One week on from the English Schools Cross-Country Championships seven young Sunderland Harries continued their athletic education representing the North-East at the Inter-Counties Championship, staged in Cofton Park, Birmingham on Saturday.
The sleet and snow of earlier in the winter were a distant memory on a day when Spring finally appeared to arrive. The course was testing, with two challenging hills and some sticky mud, but the firmer, faster sections suited Jess Fox and Mark Smith who both made the top 50 in their respective U-20 races in arguably a tougher environment than either the Schools or the National, given the selection process and the standard of competition they were up against. Jess finished 44th, while Mark’s tenacious kick over the final 250m saw him home in 48th. Jack Tallentire ran very impressively in placing 75th, and Jonny Howe was also a scoring counter for the North-East in 95th, with Chris Bell not far behind in 116th.
In the younger age-groups, Connor Prior just missed out on a place in the top 100 of the Under-13 Boys race with 102nd, and in the Under-15 Girls event Sarah Knight continued her strong winter placing 153rd.
The experience gained by these young stars over the winter, not to mention the strength gained from ploughing through the mud up hill and down dale, will stand them in great stead when the action moves onto the track heading towards the summer.